
'Speaks Like Pak Leader': BJP Slams TMC Minister For 'Vile' Remarks On PM Modi Over Op Sindoor
Last Updated:
The BJP on Saturday hit out at Kolkata Mayor TMC leader Firhad Hakim for what it called a "vile and disgraceful attack" on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Operation Sindoor.
The BJP on Saturday hit out at Kolkata Mayor and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Firhad Hakim for what it called a 'vile and disgraceful attack" on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Operation Sindoor.
BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya said that Hakim spoke like a 'Pakistani leader" when he commented that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stopped the armed forces during Operation Sindoor 'out of fear of a big country".
Attaching a video of Hakim's purported remarks, Malviya slammed the senior TMC functionary, accusing him of making a 'disgraceful attack" on the PM on the instruction of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
In the video, Hakim was heard telling reporters, 'The PM had halted the Indian Army's barrage of attacks against Pakistan out of fear of a big nation, like a 'kapurush' (coward). How can the PM claim he has done anything big? How can he take credit for Operation Sindoor?"
Listen carefully to what Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim is saying —the same man who once infamously called parts of Kolkata 'Mini Pakistan" and openly harbours dreams of turning India into an Islamic state.Now, under clear instructions from his leader Mamata Banerjee, he has… pic.twitter.com/uyeFpGSG6U
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) June 7, 2025
'Now, under clear instructions from his leader Mamata Banerjee, he has launched a vile and disgraceful attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He shamelessly claimed that PM Modi had no role in giving Pakistan a befitting reply through Operation Sindoor. He went a step further and labelled the Prime Minister a 'coward' for observing a ceasefire and not extending Operation Sindoor further," Malviya remarked.
'Frankly, this rhetoric sounds less like an Indian leader and more like a Pakistani politician trying to belittle the Indian government and its leadership. Such statements expose the mindset of those who put partisan hate above national interest. The people of India will see through this," he added.
Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 when India targeted terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack, where terrorists killed 26 people, mostly tourists, in Jammu and Kashmir.
Both Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have repeatedly rejected US President Donald Trump's claims that the United States mediated the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, noting that the truce resulted from a direct bilateral agreement between the two nations without any third-party involvement.
First Published:
June 07, 2025, 22:46 IST
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
Who's afraid of Mysore Pak? The bitter taste of India's language wars
Languages can either foster peace and understanding or serve as tools for conflict and division. In India, they are increasingly being weaponised. For instance, amid tensions with Pakistan, some shopkeepers in Jaipur renamed sweets like Mysore Pak and Moti Pak to Mysore Shree and Moti Shree, erroneously assuming the word 'pak' (meaning 'sacred' in Persian) to be of foreign origin. Ironically, in the case of these sweets, 'pak' is rooted in the Sanskrit term 'pakva' (meaning 'cooked'), with cognates in several Indian languages, including Kannada. On the other end of the country, Hyderabad's Karachi Bakery faced vandalism for using the name of a Pakistani city, despite being founded by a Sindhi Hindu refugee who migrated from Karachi in 1947. Such acts of linguistic intolerance are not isolated but part of a larger pattern where language is being used to fuel differences. Kamal Haasan's remark that Kannada is born out of Tamil sparked a row Words of Arabic origin, such as jihad (spiritual struggle), halala (permissible), talaq (divorce), sharia (Islamic law), and hijab (veil), have been used by political groups to marginalise and discriminate against communities. Conversely, innocuous Sanskrit-derived terms like bhakta (devotee), gobar (cow dung), gaumutra (cow urine), and mandir (temple) are stigmatised by opposing groups to demean and trivialise cultural practices and identities. Jai Shree Ram (Victory to Lord Rama) and Allahu Akbar (God is Great), once expressions of devotion, have been twisted into polarizing war cries. Forget humans, even AI chatbots like X's Grok have been manipulated to abuse and dehumanize people, communities and organisations using the 'unhinged mode' feature. More worrying than the language conflicts on social media is what is playing out on the streets. Skirmishes have been reported in several cities with migrant workers becoming soft targets for these 'language vigilantes'. In a nation where languages are deeply intertwined with cultural identity and pride, these conflicts over language use, words and signage strike at the heart of personal and communal belonging. But why is India's linguistic diversity — it has over 424 distinct languages — under strain? Among the reasons are the continued distrust of multilingualism by central and state govts, inconsistent implementation of the three-language policy, and the push for a 'one-country, one-language' ideology based on a European model of a nation state. Moreover, state govts are implicitly supporting this ideology of linguistic homogenization. A 2024 Kerala govt order mandated exclusive use of Malayalam in public advertisements and notices, prohibiting multilingual signs. Govts in UP, MP, Uttarakhand, and Rajasthan have been actively replacing names of villages and cities perceived as Islamic with those reflecting Hindu heritage. In MP, for instance, Mohammadpur Machanai village was changed to Mohanpur, and Hajipur was renamed Hirapur. Critics argue that such renaming erases centuries of coexistence and shared history, while proponents claim it restores a pre-colonial identity. So widespread is linguistic prejudice in India that regional variations of a widely spoken language like Hindi are stigmatised. Hindi speakers from eastern states like Bihar and Jharkhand often face mockery for their distinct accents, word choices, and oral expressions. Their mother tongues, such as Bhojpuri, Magahi, and Angika, are labeled as crude or vulgar. By linking the perceived vulgarity of Bhojpuri films and songs to the language itself, the entire Bhojpuri-speaking community is viewed through a prejudiced lens. Similarly, though Telangana Telugu and coastal Telugu share a common script and a unified cultural history, Telangana Telugu has been treated historically as inferior. In films, Telangana Telugu speakers were frequently portrayed as comical or foolish. These linguistic, cultural, and social differences contributed to the 2014 separation of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. In fact, there is a competitive race among linguistic groups to claim the antiquity of their languages. A recent flashpoint was actor Kamal Haasan's remark that Kannada was born out of Tamil which sparked a sharp backlash. The Indian govt's 'classical' tag for certain 'dominant languages' — the 2024-25 list included Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, and Bengali — has also become a coveted badge of prestige. These languages already receive significant budgetary support from both Union and state govts. Such official labels often end up intensifying conflicts and further marginalising resource-scarce minority languages like Tulu, Bhili, Gondi, Santali, Dogri, Angami, Lotha, Mizo, Garo, Khasi, Badaga, Irula etc. Far from being a unifying force, languages have become tools of polarisation in electoral politics. If India is to uphold its democratic ideals, the embrace of multilingualism must be more than symbolic. It must be actively nurtured, through policy, education, and public discourse. Languages are not just a medium of communication; they are the essence of identity, culture, and coexistence. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Passport of Rajasthan staffer held for spying reveals 4 Pakistan trips
JAISALMER: The intelligence unit of Rajasthan Police Saturday found the passport of alleged ISI spy Shakur Khan during a search at his govt residence in Jaisalmer. The passport revealed he made four trips to Pakistan, with the most recent visit in March 2025. Khan, who had claimed his old passport was lost, was arrested earlier this week under the Official Secrets Act. An assistant administrative officer at the Jaisalmer district employment office, Khan is accused of facilitating Pakistani visas for numerous individuals through direct connections with Pakistani High Commission officials. Inspector General Vishnu Kant of Rajasthan Intelligence Agency confirmed that Khan worked closely with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, a Pakistani official who was expelled from India on May 13. The espionage case has expanded significantly with over 25 individuals who received visa assistance from Khan being interrogated by a Rajasthan Intelligence team. The questioning continued for the second consecutive day on Saturday. "We are examining Khan's bank account records," Kant told TOI. The investigation faced a setback when Khan, who was brought to Jaisalmer for field verification, refused to cooperate with authorities, leading to his return to Jaipur. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Yoga Programs for Total Wellness – Start Today Search7 Learn More Undo Khan was initially detained from his govt office in Jaisalmer for questioning and finally arrested in Jaipur. A court placed him under seven-day police remand. During investigation, authorities conducted thorough searches of his personal house as well as govt accommodation and the govt employment office where he was posted. The investigation is ongoing, with multiple teams working to uncover the full extent of Khan's alleged espionage activities and his network of connections with Pakistani intelligence agencies.


Scroll.in
an hour ago
- Scroll.in
World Oceans Day: From Kerala's ravaged coast, a warning about the price of reckless development
In the middle of each year, the calendar of global conscience turns to World Oceans Day on June 8. This year's theme, 'Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us', hangs over Kerala's ravaged coastline like a cruel joke, as did the motif of World Environment Day on June 5 – 'End Plastic Pollution'. Even as diplomats in Nice and Seoul exchange platitudes about marine conservation, the sinking on May 25 of the MSC ELSA-3 – the container ship, which went down in stormy waters off Kerala's coast – has revealed what progress truly costs when measured in broken ecosystems and broken lives. The facts read like an indictment of our times. On May 24, the Liberian-flagged container ship departed the newly inaugurated Vizhinjam Port into the teeth of the southwest monsoon. Fishing boats had been ordered ashore – the sea was too dangerous for small craft. Yet the 300-metre behemoth, laden with containers (some with calcium carbide, others brimming with polyethylene pellets), received clearance to sail. Within hours, it listed violently. By dawn, the MSC ELSA-3 lay at the bottom of the Arabian Sea, just 38 nautical miles from the port that had so recklessly released it. This was no act of God, as insurers and corporations will soon claim. It was the inevitable result of systems that value cargo over communities, schedules over safety and rhetoric over responsibility. For years, Kerala's fisherfolk warned that Vizhinjam's breakwaters would accelerate coastal erosion. Oceanographers documented how the monsoon's fury made these waters a gamble for large vessels. Yet when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Adani-built port on May 2, he hailed it as India's 'maritime crown jewel' – a triumph of development over doubt. As Kerala's most ambitious port project nears its grand launch, Vizhinjam stands as a symbol of bold governance and strategic investment. With ₹5,370 Cr+ in state funding, it's India's only major port led by a State — VizhinjamInternationalSeaport (@PortOfVizhinjam) April 30, 2025 The ocean answered three weeks later. Today, Kerala's beaches wear a new kind of tide line, one marked by plastic pellets, chemical foam and broken shipping containers. Fishing grounds lie fallow, not by choice but by contamination and government fiat to fishers not to fish. The Kerala government's response of 6 kg of rice and Rs 1,000 per month to the fishers is not relief. It is plain ridicule. Meanwhile, the Mediterranean Shipping Company that owns the vessel hesitates to release the full cargo manifest, while the port authorities feign surprise at a disaster they enabled. The bitter irony? Many sponsors of this year's World Environment Day on June 5 were corporate giants producing and utilising the very plastics now choking Kerala's coast. The same shipping industry that treats vessels as disposable assets will doubtless help celebrate World Oceans Day. Such is the theatre of modern environmentalism – where polluters fund awareness campaigns as their toxins enter the food chain. True accountability would look different. It would mean: Until then, this annual observance will remain what it has always been – a greenwashed pantomime. The ocean does not need our performative 'day'. It needs us to confront the uncomfortable truth: development that destroys its protectors is not progress. It is piracy. Kerala's coast now serves as a warning written in water, one we ignore at our peril. For when we sacrifice the environment on the altar of growth, we do not just lose ecosystems. We lose our humanity. June 8 is World Oceans Day.